As far as Stephen Drew deal goes, Ben Cherington owns it

BALTIMORE — If there’s one thing that’s hard to do, it’s get a rise out of Ben Cherington. But where others have failed, a Hall of Fame baseball writer succeeded.

By John Tomase

capecodtimes.com

By John Tomase

Posted Jun. 11, 2014 at 2:36 PM
Updated Jun 11, 2014 at 2:37 PM

By John Tomase

Posted Jun. 11, 2014 at 2:36 PM
Updated Jun 11, 2014 at 2:37 PM

» Social News

BALTIMORE — If there’s one thing that’s hard to do, it’s get a rise out of Ben Cherington. But where others have failed, a Hall of Fame baseball writer succeeded.

The general manager yesterday vehemently disputed the assertion by legendary scribe Peter Gammons that the Red Sox signed shortstop Stephen Drew as the result of “media manipulation” by agent Scott Boras.

“False,” Cherington said before last night’s game against the Baltimore Orioles. “I was really surprised to see that. We know Stephen Drew really well. We signed Stephen Drew because I made a recommendation to ownership to sign Stephen Drew.”

Cherington reiterated the timeline of Drew’s re-acquisition on May 21. Five days earlier, third baseman Will Middlebrooks had broken his finger against the Tigers. As the Sox entered the weekend, internal talks about re-signing Drew intensified.

“We expected, based on the initial evaluation, that Will might miss a significant amount of time,” Cherington said. “At that point, during that game, we were 20-20, and scratching and clawing for every win and certainly right in the mix in the AL East.

“We had known, if there was an area on the team that we wanted to add some depth to, it was the left side of the infield.”

The Red Sox had two options — sign Drew or trade for someone else. Drew made sense for a variety of reasons.

“We have a guy who we trust, who we like, who’s a good player, who’s a trustworthy player, who’s been here and done that who’s available to sign without giving talent, so we did it,” Cherington said. “I made that recommendation, and I would make that recommendation again.”

The Sox signed Drew for the remainder of the season for $10 million. He has missed the last two games with a sore oblique, leading to questions of whether his contract stipulated that he be brought to the big leagues when his optional minor league assignment ended.

“I don’t want to get into the specifics of our discussion before signing him, but we definitely felt like given where he was physically at the time of the signing that it wouldn’t take him a long time in the minor leagues to be able to help our team,” Cherington said.

That said, Cherington acknowledged the team didn’t expect Drew to have perfect timing or endurance right out of the gate, but that even at less than 100 percent, he represented an upgrade.

“We don’t have any regrets for that,” Cherington said. “We also knew we might have to manage his playing time a little bit early on, so it’s not unexpected that he’s getting a day here and there. All the reasons we signed him are still in place and we’ll see how it works out.”